Book description
'The Rule of Law' is a phrase much used but little examined. The idea
of the rule of law as the foundation of modern states and
civilisations has recently become even more talismanic than that of
democracy, but what does it actually consist of?
In this brilliant short book, Britain's former senior law lord, and
one of the world's most acute legal minds, examines what the idea
actually means. He makes clear that the rule of law is not an arid
legal doctrine but is the foundation of a fair and just society, is a
guarantee of responsible government, is an important contribution to
economic growth and offers the best means yet devised for securing
peace and co-operation. He briefly examines the historical origins of
the rule, and then advances eight conditions which capture its essence
as understood in western democracies today. He also discusses the
strains imposed on the rule of law by the threat and experience of
international terrorism.
The book will be influential in many different fields and should
become a key text for anyone interested in politics, society and the
state of our world.
Tom Bingham, 'the most eminent of our judges' (
Guardian
), held office successively as Master of the Rolls, Lord Chief Justice
of England and Wales and Senior Law Lord of the United Kingdom, the only
person ever to hold all three offices. He became a life peer, as Baron
Bingham of Cornhill in the County of Powys, on becoming Lord Chief
Justice in 1996. In 2005 he was appointed a Knight of the Garter, the
first professional judge to be so honoured. He retired in 2008, and in
the same year was elected by the Institut de France as the first winner
of the Prize for Law awarded by the Alexander S. Onassis Public Benefit
Foundation.
